New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has faced a litany of derogatory attacks concerning his religion in the week since he became the presumed winner of the Democratic primary.

The attacks have primarily come from the right, with Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) calling for Mamdani to be denaturalized and deported and President Trump even chiming in on Tuesday referencing false claims that Mamdani entered the country illegally.

But Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) also faced backlash in recent days for a comment she made claiming Mamdani had called for “global jihad,” which her communications director said was a misstatement and for which she has apologized.

Experts said comments referencing the religion of Muslim political figures isn’t anything new but has expanded its reach over time.

"That's the decades-long pattern,” said Corey Saylor, the research and advocacy director for the Center on American-Islamic Relations. “What's new in the last couple of weeks is figures with mainstream reach using some of the most vile possible stereotypes.”

Mussab Ali, a Muslim Democratic candidate running for mayor in Jersey City, N.J., just over the Hudson River from New York, said he’s been disappointed that more Democrats haven’t publicly pushed back against the comments Mamdani has received.

“I don't think we expected Republicans to even push back at all at this point,” he said. “But I think the fact that Democrats have not been more vocal in holding the line and having Mamdani’s back, I think, is very telling.”

As Mamdani rose in the polls in the primary and pulled off a shocking upset win over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to become the Democratic nominee, he received a wide range of attacks for his political positions, identifying as a democratic socialist.

But a handful of right-wing figures have made personal attacks on Mamdani, directly or indirectly referencing his religion. If elected, Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of New York City.

Some of the comments have come from right-wing media figures, connecting the 9/11 attacks to Mamdani’s religion........

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